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Monday, May 5, 2014

Two Lansing state basketball champion stars sign with KCKCC

By ALAN HOSKINS

KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- Two standouts on this year’s Lansing undefeated state championship team have signed letters of intent to attend Kansas City Kansas Community College this fall.

Guard Zach Jackson and forward Joe Lendway who helped the Lions finish 25-0 and sweep to the Kansas Class 5A state championship are the first 2014-15 recruits announced by KCKCC head coach Kelley Newton.

“A great way to start – recruiting winners,” said Newton. “It’s always good to bring in players who are accustomed to winning. It’s important in building a program.”

Jackson and Lendway will be joining a former teammate, 6-4 forward Clay Young, who finished second in both scoring (10.0) and rebounding (5.6) for KCKCC this past season.

A 5-10 combo guard, Jackson was second in scoring with 14.1points per game along with 2.2 assists and 2.3 rebounds while the 6-5 Lendway was second in rebounding with 4.5 per game while averaging 9.4 points.

Lansing Coach Rod Briggs says both Jackson and Lendway will make major contributions to the KCKCC program.

“Zach is really deceptive for 5-10 because he’s a strong and crafty player who can get inside and score while being a very good shooter from the perimeter,” said Briggs.

“Joe, I think, will just get better and better. He didn’t play much as a junior but worked very hard over the summer, taking Clay Young’s spot and really developing into becoming very important to our season. A hard worker and very coachable, he gave us a presence to our inside post game.”

Newton couldn’t agree more about the talents he’s bringing in. “Zach brings a lot of toughness, grit and know how – a real smart player which is what attracted me to him,” says Newton. “What a lot of people didn’t know is that he led in scoring for about 80 percent of the season.

“Joe Lendway is very intriguing because he kind of flew under the radar and was one of the big reasons Lansing won the state championship. A big guy at nearly 6-6 and 220, he’s really a product of his hard work last summer. He brings a lot of intangibles that don’t show in the scorebook – the ability to score around the basket, defend and rebound.”

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PHOTO:Zach Jackson (right), a 5-10 guard who averaged 14.1 points in leading unbeaten Lansing to a state championship, signs a letter of intent to attend Kansas City Kansas Community College where he’ll play for Coach Kelley Newton.